


Going in Circles (Down a Spiral)

by HouseOfCardsFalling



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Because I Can't Not, Cannibalism, Chenle sees ghosts, Curses, Dream centered, Drowning, Ghosts, Haunted House, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, Hyuck is the ghost whisperer, Jaemin has nightmares, Jeno sees weird shit, Jisung hears ghosts, Murder, Nightmares, Possession, Renjun has headaches, Some messed up shit, Thriller, a recipe for disaster, and Mark is the adult supervision, no ships just platonic relationships, platonic nomin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-07-15 03:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16054061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HouseOfCardsFalling/pseuds/HouseOfCardsFalling
Summary: They refuse to believe their new dorm is cursed. Absolute rubbish.But how do they explain the pitter-patter of children's footsteps? The rust, the meat and the scratches? The figures and shadows crossing the mirror, following them where they shouldn't be? How do they explain the recurring nightmares that go round and round in circles, each worse than the last, till they don't know if they were ever, truly awake?The house is cursed and there's no escape.





	1. Chapter 1

“Okay boys. Here we are. Welcome to The Lotus.”

The 18 boys gape and marvel at their new hotel. They were sceptical at first; the exterior of the residential hotel is hardly impressive compared to the five-star hotels they usually stay at. The area around it is secluded and isolated. Almost abandoned. All ‘for their safety’, they were told.

However, the interior of the hotel, spacious as it is, is richly decorated and well-kempt. Probably cleaned up just for _their_ arrival. “So, this is what it’s like being a celebrity,” jokes Kun. A large chandelier dangles over their heads.

 _This_ , is where they’ll be living during their work in China. At least, until their official dorms are built.

“Dude, dude.” Mark elbows Donghyuck excitedly. “There’s literally _nobody_ here.”

“Yeah? So? That’s a good thing isn’t it?” his friend shrugs. “No one to bother us.” He sits down on his suitcase while they wait for their manager.

“I could run naked through the halls screaming and no one would know.”

“Yuta. No.” Taeyong quickly shut the Japanese man before he got more ideas. Yuta grins at their leader cheekily.

“Mark’s right though. I barely saw anyone outside. It’s so… empty,” says Jaehyun. Doyoung smacks the back of his head. “That’s the whole point, idiot. No one’s supposed to know we live here.”

Their manager returns with sets of keys in his hands. “You guys have the whole building to yourselves, but I’m only allowing you four apartments.” There’s numerous groans from all the boys and their manager sighs. “No. Last time you roomed in pairs, you all locked yourselves out.” They had nothing to say to that. “Look, there’s five beds in each dorm. Here are the keys-” he drops the keys onto Taeyong’s waiting palm- “Knock yourselves out while I’m gone.”

Kun immediately turns to Taeyong. “I’m not babysitting the kids again,” he blurts. Chenle drops to his knees dramatically and wails. “I love you guys, I do!” Kun splutters quickly, “but I can’t take any more of your shrieking, Lele. I _swear to God-”_

Taeyong sighs. “Okay, fine. Ten-”

“No.” The Thai male is stubborn.

“Doyoung?” Taeyong tries. He’s ignored.

Just as Taeyong is beginning to formulate some complicated plan to divide the youngest amongst them, Jisung speaks up. “Hyung, we’re not kids anymore. We’re _responsible._ ” Taeyong fights back a scoff. Sure, they weren’t as little as they used to be, but _responsible?_ Taeyong’s not sure about that.

“Ji, you’re like 12, you’re practically a baby.”

“I’m 15 and _you_ look like a baby.”

“You look _more_ like a baby.”

Only further proves Taeyong’s point.

Jisung and Chenle’s bickering soon triggers the rest of the boys.

“I want to room with Winwin!” “Jeno put Renjun _down!_ ” “Do you think there’s a sauna here?” “Is that cheese?!” “I don’t want to room with Taeil, PLEASE!” “Lucas, no, you can’t eat that-” Suddenly everyone’s talking too loud, shouting over each other to be heard and Taeyong thinks he’s going to go deaf.

“ALRIGHT, SHUT UP, EVERYONE.” Taeyong rubs a hand down his face tiredly. “Dream can room together.” The Dreamies cheer. Taeyong hopes he won’t regret it. “But there’s only five beds, you guys know that?”

“No problem. Mark-hyung and Donghyuck-hyung don’t belong to the Dream Dorm anyways,” says Chenle cheerily. Renjun sniggers at Donghyuck’s betrayed expression and the way he smacks his hand across his chest. “Whatever,” says Donghyuck. “We never needed you guys anyway.” He grips Marks wrist and struts away, only stopping when Doyoung asks them where they’re going.

“So, if Kun, Lucas and Jungwoo stay together-”

“I’ll join them,” says Ten.

“Okay. Then 127 can split into two dorms.” Taeil, Jaehyun and Doyoung side up next to Taeyong, leaving Mark and Donghyuck to move in with Johnny, Yuta and Winwin.

“Yes, Foreign Swaggers!” Mark hi-fives Johnny. Yuta shakes his head at Mark’s raised palm, so Mark moves on to Winwin who also rejects his hi-five.

“This is my country, I’m not a foreigner here.”

He doesn’t even try with Donghyuck who has his hand raised and ready. “This is racism. Prejudice. Unjustly. Inequality,” complains the younger boy. But finally, they’re all settled.

 

The five Dreamies roll their suitcases into their new hotel-apartment.

“It’s not so bad,” comments Jeno. The apartment isn’t very large but there’s more than enough space for the five of them. There’s a sitting area with a TV and the kitchen on the opposite. There’s even a little balcony in the kitchen. Everything looked relatively well kept and new. The furniture was even polished. Jeno ran a finger along the shoe cupboard. Not a speck of dust.

The other boys were already picking out rooms. Jisung and Chenle immediately take dibs on the master bedroom, having no problems sharing a bed together. “Seriously?” Jaemin raises an eyebrow.

Chenle points at an embarrassed Jisung. “He ends up in my bed most nights anyways.” The youngest boy turns bright red and hides his face in the pillows of their king-sized bed.

Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin were left to argue over who shared the twin room and who had to sleep in the maid’s room. Spoiler: Jaemin lost.

They spend the whole day relaxing and unpacking ( _very_ slowly). Jeno is the first to investigate the main bathroom so he could take a shower. He comes out just as Taeyong knocks on their door, calling them for dinner.

“Everything good?” he checks. “Jeno, did you take a shower?”

Jeno nods, drying his hair with a towel. “The tub was kinda rusted but I washed it a bit and it was alright.”

Taeyong isn’t paying attention to him though- he’s staring, looking absolutely fed up and regretful, at Renjun who’s choking Jisung on the couch while Chenle cheers him on. Jaemin happily waves at him from the other end of the living room where he’s ignoring the spectacle around him.

“Yeah, so,” Taeyong finally drags his attention back on Jeno, “Dinner. Restaurant’s on the fourth floor.” He sighs heavily and closes the door.

 

That night, they all fall asleep early. Fatigue from their flight kicks in soon after dinner, and even the eldest boys have trouble keeping their eyes open. Jisung crawls into bed next to Chenle, who is already asleep. Despite the time, they’re all exhausted by jetlag and for once, the dorm is silent. He must be the last person to fall asleep. Jisung closes his eyes, and in this unusual silence, he can hear two children laughing from the room next door. They’re playing tag, he thinks, and he falls asleep to the sound of their little footsteps.

All but one sleeps peacefully. Jaemin, in his little maid’s room, on his single bed, tosses and turns restlessly. He’s cold under the blanket – shivering – but there’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He wakes suddenly, around 2am but can’t remember the nasty dream that’s been replaying over and over in his head. He only knew he wasn’t about to fall back asleep for a long while.


	2. Chapter 2

Jaemin is already bustling in the kitchen when they wake up. He had gone grocery shopping with Kun and Taeil. They didn’t have much to choose from; there were no proper supermarkets nearby, so Kun said they’ll run a proper shopping trip tomorrow. For now, Jaemin stores away the snacks they managed to buy. Teenage boys have big appetites. He knows none of the food will last them till the end of the day.

“What’s the plan for today? Explore the hotel?” asks Jeno, latching onto Jaemin’s back.

“We should find the swimming pool,” suggests Chenle. He’s as chirpy as ever, hopping around the kitchen like a little bird. “Let’s go! I’ll go get Mark-hyung and Donghyuck-hyung, yeah?” He grabs a bewildered Jisung and pulls him out the door without waiting for a reply.

Jeno scoffs into Jaemin’s shoulder, smiling at the youngest two’s antics. Jaemin leans his head against Jeno’s and closes his eyes, content with Jeno koala-hugging him. It’s quiet without Chenle and Jisung in the house. The only noise came from a black bird _kawing_ on the balcony. It’s a nice change from city pollution, Jeno muses.

Jaemin yawns.

“Nana?”

Jaemin hums quietly.

“Are you _still_ tired?”

He is. He didn’t get the ten hours of sleep he was hoping to catch. Barely four or five. But he shakes his head. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Good. Cause you’re coming with us anyways.”

 

The seven boys explore every floor of the hotel (there weren’t very many). They do find the swimming pool though. A large, blue area on the third floor, hanging off the edge of the building like a balcony. Apart from a cleaner, it’s empty.

“We literally have the whole hotel to ourselves, boys,” says Mark. “There’s literally no one else.

“Drinking game; take a shot every time Mark says literally,” teases Donghyuck.

The older boy smacks the back of his head. “You’re not drinking anything.”

“We’re not alone,” says Jisung. “There are other people here. I heard kids next door.”

Mark and Donghyuck exchange glances. “You mean us? We’re next door.”

Jisung shakes his head, so Jaemin asks, “when?”

“Just before I went to sleep. I heard them through the wall. Chenle was already asleep.”

Chenle stops playing with the water and squints at Jisung incredulously. “Ji,” he says slowly. “ _Our_ room is in the _middle_ of the apartment. The room _next_ to _ours_ is Renjun and Jeno’s.” He emphasizes each bit to ensure Jisung understands.

“Ah, really?” the boy mumbles.

For a minute, they all go quiet. The cleaner gathers his tools and leaves. Chenle turns on Renjun then. “What were you doing last night?” he accuses.

“Nothing,” Renjun shrugs.

“We went straight to bed,” Jeno says, flicking water at Chenle.

“I really did hear kids though,” insists Jisung. His eyes are wide and innocent.

Donghyuck wraps Jisung in a half-hug. “Maybe you heard a ghost,” he whispers into the boy’s ear. Jisung is easy game, he always falls into their traps. It’s no different this time; Jisung’s vivid imagination brings up all the possibilities Donghyuck could be right.

“Maybe they’re upstairs,” Jaemin offers to soothe the boy. “Why do we care anyways?” He stifles a yawn with the back of his hand.

 “I care. I don’t want noisy kids jumping over my head while I try to sleep,” complains Chenle. “ _You’re_ a noisy kid,” inputs Renjun and Chenle sticks out his tongue.

“It didn’t sound like upstairs though,” Jisung mutters softly to himself.

Jaemin yawns yet again and stretches out on the poolside lounger. Mark watches him with concern. “Didn’t you sleep last night?” he asks.

“Not really,” Jaemin answers tiredly.

“Jaemin was up way before us. He went shopping with Kun even.” Jeno pauses. “Maybe you should rest.”

“No. I’ve got a whole week to sleep. Let’s keep exploring.”

As they leave the pool area, a woman in a bathing suit passes by them and enters the toilets. “Huh, I guess Ji was right. We’re not the only ones here,” Chenle says. The boys turn, curious, but they look too late. “She went into the bathroom,” he explains to their frowning expressions.

“I don’t know why we’re still arguing about this. It’s a fucking hotel. We’re not One Direction, we can’t buy a whole fucking hotel,” says Renjun.

“Woah, did Renjun just swear? Twice?” Donghyuck exclaims.

“Are you still tired too?” Jeno asks worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Renjun brushes him off and walks ahead.

“Can One Direction buy a hotel?” questions Mark, as if that was the curiouser part.

“Probably,” Donghyuck shrugs. “I dunno, I just wanna find the game room.”

They do eventually find the game room Donghyuck has been searching for, and it has a lot more entertainment than they expected. Pool tables, arcade games, an old monopoly board, even a DDR machine. Needless to say, it took up most of their day till they returned to their rooms late at night.

 

This time, Jisung lies in bed listening for the children he had heard. He’s not scared because of what Donghyuck said, he just wants to ensure he hadn’t heard wrong. He wants to prove a point. Unfortunately, Chenle is already asleep, so he turns on voice recording on his phone and leaves it on the bedside table. Then he waits.

The children are quiet tonight… maybe because it’s late. He’s starting to drift off as well. But just as he’s about to stop the recording, he hears the footsteps. Except they’re louder. And heavier. And they aren’t coming from the next room. Or from above.

They’re right outside his door.

For a second he panics and his heart beats so hard he can hear it like it’s hammering on his head. But he tells himself it’s one of the other boys trying to scare him. He scolds himself for being terrified of a stupid idea of a prank, and he wills himself to calm down. _Deep breaths_.

 _Who the hell is stomping around so late at night?_ _And why?_ Jisung throws the blankets off and marches to the door confidently. He’s not scared. There’s no ghost, it’s just his stupid ‘ _friends_ ’.

 _Which one?_ Chenle is still in their bed, fast asleep. It can’t be him. He hardly thinks it could be Jeno or Renjun. Jaemin maybe, but older boy babies Jisung too much to want to scare him. Maybe Donghyuck snuck in?

_He’s not scared._

_Deep breaths, Jisung._

Jisung opens the door very suddenly, hoping to startle whoever was outside. It’s empty. There is no source. But the sound continues. The stomping echoes in their living room. They pass by in front of him, but there isn’t a soul in sight. Jisung gulps, feeling the hairs on his skin prickle up.

_He’s not scared._

All of a sudden, he’s glad he’s sharing a bed with Chenle. He runs back into bed and pulls the covers over his head, shifting closer to his friend. Whoever that is, stomping in the living room, that’s a mission for the morning; when he’s not scared anymore.

At the other end of the apartment, in the maid’s room, Jaemin tosses and turns again, lost in his dreams. Hours later, he bolts upright, gasping for air. His fists grip the blanket tight, like that’ll ground him, keep him from floating back into that _horrible, horrible_ dream. There’s sweat running down his face. His shirt is sticking to his skin. He shudders. It’s cold. He’s not going back to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Highly advisable to read at 2am ;)  
> especially if you have a large mirror in your room.

Morning comes and Jeno is first up (Or so he thinks). Rising early has its benefits; Jeno can use the bathroom for as long as he wants without the squabble of ‘I want to use the bathroom first!’ _and_ he gets all the hot water. He opens the shower curtains and frowns when he sees the rusty brown-red muck in the tub. The sharp metallic smell hits his nose, so he quickly reaches for the shower. It washes away easily and dribbles down the drain just like it did only two days ago.

When Jeno later enters the living room, Jaemin is already there, watching (staring at) the television. “Morning,” he calls offhandedly. He’s not interested in the living room, or whatever Chinese-Rom-Com Jaemin is watching, he’s heading for the kitchen.

There’s still not much to eat, he’d be better off going to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. All the snacks Jaemin had bought them had been devoured in the game room. Jeno hopes that when the eldest boys go to the city later, they buy proper food. The seven of them had long ago decided they’d rather mess around in their new favourite place rather than shop.

Deciding there’s nothing worth eating, Jeno returns to the living room to see if he can pester Jaemin enough to go down to the restaurant with him. Maybe he can convince him to pay too. But one look at Jaemin makes him change his mind.

The boy looks like shit, to put it simply. The dark rings around his eyes contrasted against the stark whiteness of his face. He’s barely awake. When Jeno calls his name, he doesn’t respond.

“Nana,” Jeno tries again, prodding Jaemin’s shoulder this time. The younger startles at his touch and if he didn’t look like death, Jeno might have laughed at his alarm. “Are you okay?” he opts for concern instead.

“Mmm.” An obvious lie to a redundant question.

“Did you not sleep?” He settles beside Jaemin and the younger boy shifts to rest his head on Jeno’s shoulder. Jeno presses the back of his hand to Jaemin’s cheek – he isn’t running a fever.

“I tried to sleep,” he grumbles.

“Why can’t you sleep?”

Jaemin hesitates. Then he shrugs. “Just can’t,” he mutters.

Jeno wraps an arm around him and pulls him closer. “What if I cuddle you? Will that help?”

“Maybe,” Jaemin sounds hopeful, so Jeno plays with his hair and very soon, he’s snoring softly.

 

This is the scene Renjun walks into a couple hours later.

“He couldn’t sleep?” he asks unnecessarily. “Maybe his bed is too uncomfortable? We can switch rooms.”

“Nana would’ve made a fuss about the bed right away.” He continues to pet Jaemin’s hair softly and Renjun nods in agreement. The slightly older boy sits on the coffee table in front on Jeno. He’s more friendly today, Jeno notes. The previous night, Renjun hadn’t spoken a word to him. He had been a _little bit_ insulted that Renjun hadn’t even said ‘goodnight’.

Jaemin makes a small noise and buries his face in Jeno’s chest. In hindsight, Jeno probably should have realised he’d be stuck in this position for a while. His leg has gone numb and also, he’s still hungry.

Jisung and Chenle join their living room meeting. Chenle’s hair is mussed up and he hasn’t bothered to change out of his pyjamas. Jisung, however, had the decency to get dressed.

The youngest boy stands in front of them, arms folded across his chest, with the most serious expression Jeno’s ever seen on him. “Which one of you was stomping outside our room last night?” Jisung demands more than inquires.

Jeno raises his eyebrows at Jisung’s sudden jump out of character. He almost sounded angry. “Not us. Could’ve been Jaemin though.” He gestures to the sleeping boy in his arms.

“Then did you play a recording? How did you do it?” Jisung fires.

“Do what?” Jeno is feeling completely lost at this point.

“You must have done something!” he throws his hands out in frustration.

“We didn’t do anything!” Jeno defends, looking at Renjun for help.

“Aw, Ji,” Chenle coos. “Were you scared?” He pinches his friend’s cheek but Jisung pushes his hand away. Chenle scoffs, insulted and draws back to the couch. “You were definitely scared.”

Their bickering stirs Jaemin from his sleep and Renjun scowls at Jisung. “Good job, Jisung. Jaemin’s awake.” There’s an irritated edge to his voice that makes Jisung’s front falter.

His eyes travel between Renjun and Jaemin and he rubs his nape, looking a lot less angry and a lot more like he would love to have the floor swallow him whole. This is the Jisung Jeno knows. “I- uh. Sorry, it was just- I was just… I don’t know… it- it was just really weird.” Jisung flushes bright red from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. “I got a little freaked out. Sorry.”

“ _Ask_ _Jaemin_ ,” says Renjun. _Orders_ Renjun.

“Huh?” Jisung blinks, glancing between to the two boys again.

“Go ahead. Ask him since you’re so bothered.”

Jisung hesitates, not sure if Renjun is testing him or if he really wants him to ask. The older boy doesn’t break eye contact with him, and he ends up caving. He turns to Jaemin. “Uhm…Hyung,” he mumbles. “Were you- were you awake last night?” He meets Renjun’s glare to see if he’s doing this right. Renjun keeps scowling. It’s not a good look on him. Jisung winces and turns back around.

Jaemin only blinks slowly.

Embarrassed, Jisung ducks his head and bites his lip. His face is turning redder by the second. He just wants to get this over quickly, but Jaemin spends what feels like hours mulling over his words.

“I was awake most of last night,” Jaemin confesses finally. “Why?”

“Oh,” he can finally lift his head. “There was someone stomping around the living room last night. At 11-ish? Was it you?” He adds more quietly to the end.

“11?” the older boy repeats. Jisung nods, expectant. However, Jaemin affirms he was asleep then. He was sure.

“You sure it didn’t come from upstairs? Or downstairs?” asks Jeno. If none of them were awake, there couldn’t have been any stomping, despite what Jisung insisted. Unless one of them is lying, but Jeno doesn’t think they are; it’s a stupid thing to lie about. He doesn’t understand why they’re arguing. Or why the mood is as awful as it is.

“I went outside to check who it was. But there was no one there,” Jisung mutters softly.

“That’s weird.” He’s suddenly reminded of the ever-so-rusty bathtub. “Hey, you know what else is weird?” he tells them. “The bathtub keeps rusting. I cleaned it when we came, but it was all rusty this morning again.”

Everyone frowns at Jeno for a change and he suddenly feels small. Like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Jeno, I used the bathroom before you this morning,” says Jaemin quietly. “It was clean. And, it’s plastic. It can’t rust.”

“What the hell did you do in the shower then?” Jeno forces a laugh. “I’m only saying what I saw.” What else could it be? _What else?_ He pushes it away.

Renjun massages his temples. “You guys are all so pathetic. The smallest thing happens and you’re thinking this place is haunted.”

“No one said it’s haunted,” argues Chenle.

“But you’re all thinking it.”

Chenle looks Renjun up and down. “ _You_ aren’t one to talk. _You’re_ the one that talks about ghosts all the time. _You’re_ the one who believes in ghosts. Not us.”

“No need to be so rude, Zhong Chenle. Don’t forget I’m older than you,” scolds Renjun.

Chenle’s nostrils flare angrily. “The only rude one here is you, ge! You’ve been so weird and _mean_ the last few days. It’s not like you.”

Jeno is on Chenle’s side for this one. So, when Renjun looks at him for backup, he looks away. Maybe he wasn’t sleeping well either, but Renjun had been cranky and agitated since their arrival. Yet his sudden mood swings are to say, _sudden_. He goes from their soft-hearted Renjun to _this_ Renjun before Jeno can pinpoint the trigger.

Chenle is the first to say it all aloud. And he’s not done.

“You’re weird too,” he tells Jaemin, who listens without arguing. Probably because he’s too tired to try. “I don’t know if you’re sick or what, but you look terrible.”

Jaemin nods once. Jeno doesn’t know what he’s agreeing to.

“And don’t get me started on you, Jisung Park.”

Jisung hangs his head low.

Chenle takes a step back, away from them. “You’re all acting weird,” he finishes.

The silence that hangs after that is thick and uncomfortable. Their dorm atmosphere has never been this tense. Not even when Chenle and Jisung had a fight big enough that they switched rooms for a whole two days. (Honestly, to the older boys, that fight was more entertaining than worrying.)

Luckily, Mark and Donghyuck arrive in the nick of time. They pound on the door loudly. “Wake up, losers!” Donghyuck shouts. “Rise and shine! Let’s go!”

Jisung moves to open the door on automatic. Jaemin untangles himself from Jeno and Renjun sits up straighter. Donghyuck leans against the doorway. “Morning ladies,” he drawls, but the tension doesn’t miss him. “What happened? Why the miserable faces?”

No one answers.

“Jisung?” Mark reaches for their youngest worriedly.

“Nothing happened, hyung, nothing,” Jisung brushes him off with a smile. His eyes are tinged red, Jeno notices.

“What’s going on?” Mark turns to them instead. “Did you guys fight?”

“Jisung thinks there’s a ghost in our dorm,” says Renjun. His arms are crossed over his chest defensively.

Mark looks at the aforementioned boy, taking in his frowning lips and troubled eyes. Jisung _hated_ getting yelled at and by the looks of it, the others had turned against him. Mark wraps an arm around the boy protectively. “Okay,” he says slowly. “And?”

“It’s stupid,” Renjun finishes.

Jisung moves so he can read Mark’s expression. “I didn’t say there was a ghost! I was just saying there was someone stomping outside my room last night, but when I went out there wasn’t anybody!” He presses his lips together. “Then they all started arguing.”

“We’re not arguing,” insists Chenle, stomping his foot a little. “We just had a minor- a minor disagreement. Whatever. It was Renjun-hyung who started being bitchy-”

“ _Chenle.”_

“ _ANYWAYS_ , it’s no big deal. I’m gonna go get dressed. You guys head out without me.”

“And he calls us weird,” Renjun mutters, watching him run off to his room.

Donghyuck squints at them. “Okay…?” he says. Jeno gives him a smile he hopes is reassuring. “Okay…” Donghyuck repeats. “Let’s go then?”

 

The master bathroom is almost twice the size of the bathroom outside. The wall opposite the shower-tub is one large wall mirror, so when Chenle stands in the tub and pulls away the curtains, he can see his reflection. The other boys have already left the apartment. He knows because he heard the front door slam. He’s well and truly alone.

The heat of the water comes close to scorching his back but Chenle lets it pound on him in the hopes it’ll wash away all the negativity from minutes ago. All of a sudden, the temperature of the water flips from hot to _freezing_ so quick he doesn’t even notice the change for a bare minute. Chenle yelps. He slams the tap shut. Curses Jisung for using up the last of the hot water.

Quickly, he wraps his towel around himself, trying to retain some warmth. The bathroom is cold. Colder than the bedroom. Almost as cold as the shower. Chenle steps out of the tub. He needs to get to the bedroom.

He pulls on his clothes as fast as he can. In the mirror, the other Chenle copies him. _Shirt, pants, jacket._ Their bare skin almost looks white under the harsh lights. Chenle moves towards the mirror. The other Chenle mimics the way he fixes his hair. Imitates his expressions.

He bends over the sink to brush his teeth.

He looks up. They’re both still there. Still the same. Mirrored expressions. Unmoving.

He bends over again to spit into the sink.

The other Chenle stares back at him. Still.

 

There’s someone behind him.

 

Chenle freezes. Not because he’s cold. He doesn’t freeze because he’s cold. Oh, but he’s cold too. Goosebumps break over his arms. Chills run down his spine. He whips around. There’s no one behind him. There shouldn’t be. It’s just them two. Him and Mirror-Chenle.

 _No_. _There’s no one there, Chenle. You’re letting Ji get to your head, Chenle. Get yourself together, Chenle._

He looks back at the mirror.

 _“Get yourself together, Chenle,”_ the other Chenle mouths. But it’s not Chenle anymore. It looks like Chenle. It moves like Chenle. But its eyes are black. Void of anything.

The lights flicker.

Something else takes the reflection’s place.

It’s dripping. The tub is dripping. It’s overflowing.

Chenle backs away. Backs out. Staggers towards the door. The bathroom expands. The walls stretch out. The door moves further and further away.

The light switches back on.

The other Chenle watches from behind the sink. It’s smiling. Behind it, there’s an arm hanging out of the tub. Chenle gulps. His hands are shaking on the doorknob.

 _“Get yourself together, Chenle.”_ It laughs without sound.

Chenle runs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time you take a shower, be careful who you step on in the tub.  
> And NEVER take your eyes off the mirror.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys continue to argue, Renjun doesn't feel right, Jeno sees something he'd rather wish he didn't and Jaemin thinks sleeping is scary.
> 
> “I have a proposition," he says with a sense of cheeriness that seems out of place in the current atmosphere. "How about, we forget all this ghost business, and focus on having a good time before our schedules start, huh? How about that?”  
> No one responds to his jazz hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warnings for;  
> Cannibalism, mention of throwing up and uh... ghosts ig

“Chenle sure is taking his sweet time,” Donghyuck drones. He bends down to meet the pool table at eye level and flicks a green billiard ball into the hole. The boys cheer. None of them know how to play, but it’s amusing to pretend they know what they’re doing.

“I bet you, right now he’s singing his third duet with the shower-head,” says Jeno. The boys collectively snicker.

Donghyuck suddenly belts out into the chorus of ‘A Whole New World’. Jeno joins him, holing the cue stick to his mouth like a microphone stand. The other boys laugh at the duo’s antics, any tension from before quickly fading. Donghyuck dramatically twirls Jeno, but the latter unfortunately trips; he lands face first on the floor.

The room bursts into laughter.

Renjun has to lean against Jaemin to support himself. Honestly, he admits he’s been feeling out of it these days – feeling _not much like himself_. He knows he’s been touchier than usual, and easily irritable, but he can’t help it. He does feel guilty about it; snapping at everyone. He blames it on the headaches.

He hasn’t mentioned it to anyone yet – he’s trying to sleep it off. The headaches come and go as suddenly as his mood-swings. It’s an on and off thing, but here, right now, he’s himself (and he knows he owes Jisung an apology).

Just as Jeno shrieks a high-note, the door bangs open. Chenle runs in panting. Ah, the other person he needs to apologise to.

“There you are!” Jaemin shouts.

Chenle chuckles nervously. “Yeah.”

Renjun moves over on the bench and gestures for Chenle to sit next to him. Chenle is hesitant, but he squeezes in between him and Jaemin. Renjun places his hand on the younger’s knee. Chenle places his hand atop Renjun’s, and they both know anything that happened is past them. Yet, despite, Chenle is distant. His mind is elsewhere.

Renjun hopes it’s not because of him. He knows he’s said _things_ but the headaches don’t help him remember. “Lele, if I said anything that hurt you,” he starts, “I’m sorry, I-”

“No, no. _I’m_ sorry,” Chenle interrupts. His eyes are wide, surprised. “You didn’t do anything, ge.” He smiles then. A real smile. “Yeah, you’ve been kind of an ass, but I’d break you if you really hurt me.”

Renjun winces. “Sorry.”

“Me too. We’re cool.” He pulls Renjun into a side hug.

For a few hours, they mess around with the different items in the game room. Donghyuck and Jeno are glued to the pool table, but the rest of them fight over the arcade consoles and Chenle starts a chess match with Renjun. For a few hours, they have fun. As a group.

Then Mark speaks. “So, I guess all problems are resolved?” He smiles expectantly, hands clasped on his lap.

Jaemin scoffs. “Hardly,” he mumbles, only half-joking.

Jeno and Donghyuck slowly straighten up and stop their game.  “What happened this morning anyways?” Donghyuck questions hesitantly. His eyes automatically turn to Jisung.

This is when Jisung remembers he had planned evidence. “I recorded it!” he shouts suddenly.

Donghyuck blinks. “What. What did you record?”

He doesn’t get a reply because Jisung is busy fumbling through his phone. The elder boys exchange confused looks.

“I was gonna record the kids I heard to prove it to you guys.” He holds out his phone and turns the volume up. A voice recording is playing.

The first few minutes only pick up the sound of the aircon. Then there’s a faint shuffling, like fabric rubbing together. A door creaking open. Absolute silence from both the recording and the boys. Jisung’s small gasp. More shuffling and the recording ends.

The room remains silent. Donghyuck shrugs awkwardly, Mark sighs and sits back in his chair, Jeno turns back to the pool table. And Jisung, he hardly looks embarrassed, or ashamed even. The look on his face is pure disappointment.

“Jisung,” Jaemin calls softly.

“I swear, I-”

“I believe you.”

“Me too.” Chenle leaves Renjun’s side to hold Jisung’s shaking hands.

“What do you believe? That there’s a ghost in our apartment?” spits Renjun?

Jeno insistently keeps his attention on the pool table instead of the bound-to-blow-argument behind him. He hears Donghyuck mutter, _oh boy_ , under his breath and meets his eye. _‘Do you get it now?’_ he tries to convey to him. The other boy nods exhasperatedly.

“Maybe there is,” Jaemin barks back just as Chenle shouts, “Yes!”

Renjun pinches his nose bridge, clearly annoyed. Mark takes his cue to intervene. “Come on, guys,” he pushes. “A ghost? Really?”

“I saw it!” Chenle loudly insists. “It was in the bathroom.”

“You saw it?” Donghyuck repeats.

Jeno rubs his arms and shuffles near Donghyuck. “Chenle, seriously, I’m scared now,” he confesses.

“Oh my,” Renjun mutters, rolling his eyes. “Not you too.”

“I was more scared!” Chenle yells and Jaemin pulls his arm because the boy had stood up, riling himself up. Chenle huffs and sits back down, again between Jaemin and Renjun. He refuses to look at Renjun and presses into Jaemin instead. Jaemin wraps an arm each around the youngest boys.

“But you guys _just_ made up!” Mark whines.

“I’m not talking to you,” says Chenle.

“I have a proposition,” announces Donghyuck with a sense of cheeriness that sounded out of place. “How about, we forget all this ghost business, and focus on having a good time before our schedules start, huh? How about that?”

No one responds to Donghyuck’s jazz hands. The tension falls over them once again, blanketing the room in a suffocating silence. Every second that passes only sends more hairs rising on their napes. All the air in the room is sucked away and replaced with something heavier. Denser. Something that’s weighing them all down. It’s only a matter of seconds before someone cracks.

“That person over there isn’t Renjun,” Chenle suddenly whispers.

“Lele, that’s ridiculous-”

“The fuck?” Renjun bursts. “What are you trying to say?” He stands over Chenle.

“Woah, back off, Junnie,” Jaemin warns, suddenly more alert than he’d been all week and unsure how to react. He presses his palm against the boy’s chest, pushing him away from the younger Chinese boy. Marks pulls Renjun away with some force; him being uncharacteristically intimidating. Chenle curls into Jaemin. The latter stares Renjun down, an unusual frown gracing his lips. Even Jeno moves away from Renjun.

“This is getting out of hand.” Mark runs a hand down his face.

At that moment, Jaehyun, Johnny and Doyoung drop in. By practiced reflex, the boys assume a ‘normal’ position (with the sort of shenanigans they get themselves into, they’ve become natural at hiding things from their older members. This is no different).

“We’re going to the city area to buy stuff,” Doyoung informs them. “Kun, Taeil and Taeyong went grocery shopping. Everyone else is sight-seeing.”

“Unless you want to come with us-”

“We don’t really want you to come,” interrupts Doyoung.

“ _Unless you want to come with us,_ ” Johnny eyes Doyoung, “you guys are gonna be by yourselves.”

“We’re not planning on coming back soon.”

“Winwin told us there’s an abandoned amusement park two hours from here,” Jaehyun whispers.

“We’ll pass,” Donghyuck answers for them. Chenle whines quietly, but Donghyuck speaks over him. “We have a _few things_ we need to sort out.” He puts on his best smile (it only makes the older boys suspicious) and shuts the door in their faces while wishing them goodbye.

He turns around and claps. “Next person who mentions ghosts will be personally tossed into the pool by me, o-kay?”

The only response comes from Jeno.

Mark sighs for the nth time. “I think you guys are hungry. Yeah. You’re hungry. We skipped lunch. Let’s go eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” says Chenle stubbornly.

“Well, that’s too bad, but we’re going upstairs. Now, come on.” Mark ushers Jeno and Renjun out and then goes for Jaemin. Jisung follows Jaemin, leaving Chenle no choice but to obey. He pointedly ignores Mark and latches onto Jaemin’s arm.

 

They sit around a table in the restaurant area; Jaemin, Jisung and Chenle on one side, Jeno, Donghyuck, Mark and Renjun on the far left of the other. The divide is clear.

Chenle keeps his head turned away from the people across from him. Jisung absently plays with Jaemin’s hair, the older boy having promptly passed out on the table. Mark and Donghyuck talk quietly between themselves about anything that’s not the odd behaviour of their friends.

Meanwhile, Renjun and Jeno are in the kitchen, speaking with the chef. There’s only one chef, and he’s one of the few staff employed in the building. One the first day, he had welcomed them all with warm hugs. He’s a friendly, smiley guy who is already fond of the Chinese boys; especially Chenle. Jeno can’t blame him – Chenle has a cute face that’s like a magnet to anyone older than him.

However, this time, Renjun does the talking while Jeno observes the kitchen. There’s a large, stainless steel stove and adjacent to the wall, two refrigerators, a door for the pantry, a small walk-in freezer and a grill set ablaze with three large meat-stocked skewers spinning on top.

Two appear to be pig or beef, Jeno can’t tell. The third is oddly-shaped. Just one limb, Jeno guesses. Maybe two limbs. It’s got hardly any flesh, apart from two lumps hanging down the middle. It’s skinny, and its joints bend and stick out weird.

The skewer spins around twice. It takes Jeno exactly 7 seconds to realise and another 3 to process it.

The meat on the stick didn’t come from any animal.

 _Technically, it’s still classified as an animal,_ he recites to himself, as if the fact makes it any better. _Humans are mammals_. He suddenly remembers elementary, when they studied the animal kingdom, and the disgust, the disbelief and the horror on his classmates’ faces when they were told _‘humans are mammals too’_. Back then, Jeno had laughed at their expressions. Now he wears the same expression they did. If they were here now, they would probably laugh at _him._

He slaps himself back to reality and avoids Renjun’s judgemental glance. Instead, he trains his eyes on his feet. Away from the grill. And the chef grilling it. He presses his lips together. Holds the nausea down. He’s not hungry anymore.

When Renjun finishes his discussion, Jeno excuses himself to the bathroom saying he doesn’t feel well. It’s not a lie. He barely makes it to the toilet before he’s spewing the entire content of his stomach. Shakily, he just manages to get to his feet and flush the toilet before Mark runs in.

“You okay, Jen?” he asks worriedly.

Jeno breathes deeply. Then he puts on his smile; the famous eye-smile. “Yeah, must’ve eaten something weird,” he chuckles.

Mark appears unconvinced. He’s worried about them, Jeno thinks. Hurriedly, he washes his hands and rinses his mouth. Jeno doesn’t want to worry Mark any more than the others already have.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mark asks again. “You look really pale right now…”

Jeno shrugs, tossing a paper towel into the bin. “Maybe I’m catching something.”

“Maybe…” agrees Mark. “Maybe you’re all catching something. Jaemin doesn’t look too good either…” he trails off.

“You should tell Taeyong-hyung to buy some medicine.”

Mark startles out of his thoughts. “Oh. Yeah. I should. Good idea.” He dials their elder brother’s number and puts the phone to his ear. Jeno smiles sympathetically and pats his back.

“Stop worrying so much. You’re almost as bad as Taeyong-hyung,” he grins.

Mark laughs, finally. “I’ll stop worrying when you kids stop worrying me.”

“Tell him to get sleeping pills as well,” Jeno quickly reminds when the dial tone begins. 

The phone rings for a few seconds and then goes into voicemail. The corners of Mark’s lips turn down again. Forehead creasing into worry lines. Jeno holds down his rising panic. Taeyong almost always picks up. Especially if it’s one of the Dreamies.

“Try again. Maybe he’s busy.”

Mark redials. This time, an icy voice whispers into his ear; _“Goodbye.”_ Cold. Firm. And not Taeyong. It’s the lady who recites the automated messages. Mark knows her voice from the countless times Donghyuck has blocked his number. He has memorised the message at this point; _“the person you are calling is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”_ Then it would repeat in Korean.

But this was only one word, in _English_. No repetition in Korean, or even Chinese for that matter. It’s lowkey freaky and Mark might be a _teensy_ bit scared. He shakes his head and pockets his phone.

Jeno catches the look in Mark’s eye. “What is it?”

“Nothing. He’s busy. I’ll call him back later.” Mark offers Jeno a comforting smile. “You guys are freaking me out with your ghost stories.” Jeno frowns disapprovingly but lets Mark sling an arm around his shoulder and walk them to the table. He decides not to push it. Mark will come around eventually.

He wonders why they keep lying to each other.

 

Jaemin is sleepily blinking his eyes when Jeno and Mark return. “You good?” he asks Jeno, who sits down beside him.

“Speak for yourself,” he jokes.

“Touché.” Jaemin buries his head in his arms, eyelids slowly drooping.

The chef brings out their dinner _(tea?)_ and spreads it across the table. Plenty of salad, seafood soup and noodles and a whole chicken.

It’s not the _other_ meat, but Jeno feels bile rising up his throat again. “On second thought,” he grimaces, pushing his chair back. “Maybe I’ll go lay down for a bit.”

“We’ll leave something for you,” assures Mark.

Jeno nods, lips pursed and hightails out of the restaurant. He’s standing in front of the elevator when he feels everything shift slightly out of focus. Was he really getting ill? The elevator doors slide open but it looks a little different to what he’s accustomed to.

All the horror movies he’s watched come back to him. Slowly, he takes a few steps back, then against his better judgement, and his pride, he runs to the restaurant. Real or not, he’s not fucking around with ghosts in a potentially haunted apartment-hotel.

He calms his breathing and steps inside, pretending he’s alright. “Actually,” he begins, unable to look at his friends’ faces without flushing in embarrassment, “could someone, uh, come with me?”

Donghyuck’s jaw drops open in mock amazement. “You’re scared?”

“I’m being cautious,” Jeno corrects.

“Hold on, Jen. I’m coming.” Jaemin drinks his soup straight from the bowl, ignoring the others’ horrified expressions, wipes his mouth on his napkin and skips towards Jeno.

“Hey, Chenle. If anyone here is possessed, it’s that guy.” Donghyuck jerks his thumb at the pink-haired boy linking arms with Jeno.

“Please don’t say that,” Chenle grimaces.

 

Jeno feels a lot safer with Jaemin hanging off his arm, even if said boy is only half-awake and Jeno has to part drag him out of the elevator. If Jaemin was keen on skinship when he was awake, he’s ten times touchier asleep.

“Can I sleep in your room?” the boy mumbles into Jeno’s neck where he’s resting his head.

“You’d sleep in my room even if I tell you no.”

“Mmhmm.”

Jeno unlocks the door with his key-card. Jaemin lets go of him for a second to slide down against the wall and pull off his shoes. “Jen,” he whines after a moment. Jeno looks up from where he’s storing his own sneakers on the shoe rack.

“What’s up?”

Jaemin points at the laces on his converse. Jeno sighs fondly. He kneels beside Jaemin’s feet, pulling at the ends of the laces.

“Jen,” Jaemin calls again.

“Yeah?”

“Do y’know why I can’t sleep?”

“ _Nope_. You never told me.” He pulls one boot off.

Jaemin yawns. “When I sleep, I have dreams.”

“Yeah, people usually do.”

“But it doesn’t feel like I’m dreaming… I think I’m awake. Then something bad happens… Then I wake up. But I’m still sleeping...”

Jeno pauses while removing the other boot. “You’re not making a lot of sense, Nana.”

Jaemin’s voice becomes quieter suddenly. Jeno’s ears barely catch it.

“It’s _scary_ , Jen.”

Jeno faces his _extremely-tired, sleep-deprived_ best friend. Jaemin is leaning heavily on the wall, completely drained. Jeno notes the dark circles he's only seen during the heavy week before a comeback, and the unhealthy washed out, paleness of his skin. He brushes the boy’s fading pink fringe out of his eyes; slowly but continuously blinking in an effort to stay awake.

“Let’s get to bed,” he tells him gently.

Suddenly, the room flashes and lights up. In that spare second, Jeno’s eye catches the disarray of their living room. As if someone had turned it upside-down and shook it. Not a second later, thunder explodes over their heads, loud and dangerously close. Jeno jumps to his feet, feeling for the light switch as they’re enveloped in darkness again.

The living room comes back into view. Everything is set in place just as it was in the morning. Jeno grabs Jaemin’s hand. He doesn’t like this one bit. He wishes the older boys were back already.

As quickly as he can, he pulls Jaemin to his feet and practically carries him to his room. Making sure the covers are covering the boy’s toes (who knows what demon might be lurking, looking for legs to pull), he slips in beside him.

Lighting flashes again. This time Jeno screws his eyes shut. Thunder roars, but Jaemin sleeps undisturbed through it.

The storm begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry i'm soft for nomin, I can't help it.
> 
> EDIT: Hi guys it's 10pm here and i spent the whole day till now writing this and now i can't sleep because i scared myself and im afraid of the dark but i need the lights to be off to sleep ahahaha im sorry pls send help im not rlly a bad bitch :')


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thunder is loud, but their screams are far louder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well,,,  
> this went in a direction I wasn't planning to take,  
> but it's no fun if you stick to the script right? :)
> 
> I couldn't finish the whole chapter in time (it got very very very long) and I don't think I'll be able to till February, (mocks at the start of the year ugh) so here's the first half!  
> And Happy New Year!

“I’m worried.” Mark taps the rim of his glass absently. He peers at Chenle and Jisung, who are quietly speaking so Mark and the others won’t hear. Then he looks over to his side where Renjun is peacefully eating his dinner, hardly looking concerned at all. The two seats across Renjun are empty; the main roots of his worries.

“What if they’re all getting sick?” he whispers to Donghyuck. “I can’t take care of sick teenagers!”

It’s the way Donghyuck looks at him as if _he_ was the one talking nonsense about ghosts and haunted hotels that shuts him up. Mark takes another swig from his glass of water. Maybe if he believes hard enough, it’ll turn into alcohol. God knows he needs it. There’s another boom of thunder to add to his growing list of concerns.

“We can take care of ourselves, thanks Mark,” snarks Chenle, having overheard.

Mark pointedly squints at Jeno and Jaemin’s empty seats. “Are you really trying to tell me that, Chenle?” He hears Donghyuck sigh and mutter something about ‘whooping his ass’.

Chenle folds his arms across his chest defensively. “I know what I saw. And I know they saw it too.” He shows no room for argument, but Donghyuck tries to ease his way through.

“Did they _say_ they saw anything?”

Chenle never falters. The boy always has an answer at ready. “Jaemin said he believes us, and Jeno was too scared to go back by himself.”

“That doesn’t mean the hotel is _haunted_. That just means they’re fucking pussies,” Renjun rants, jabbing a finger at the tablecloth although the poor tablecloth had done nothing to offend him.

Mark, who had been trying to cooperate with them this far, finally slams his hands on the table. “I’m tired of all this!” He announces. He is. He’s sick of having to tiptoe around the kids trying to avoid another argument and still feeling so lost and left out of the loop. “Let’s get this straight, Okay? _Jisung_. Do you think the hotel is haunted? Yes or no?” He enunciates each word.

Jisung tenses up, his otherwise small eyes blown wide. “Uh, no? Yes? Maybe?” He glances at Chenle to confirm. Chenle shrugs. “If there really wasn’t anyone awake last night-”

“There was _no one_ awake last night.” Renjun loudly retorts.

Jisung pulls his lips into a thin line and raises his eyebrows. “Then I guess it _is_ haunted,” he says softly but with an irritated edge.

“Okay. _Chenle_. You believe the hotel is haunted-”

“Yes, I _saw_ the ghost.”

“You _saw_ a ghost, okay, _Renjun-_ ” Mark hesitates as Renjun faces him. “You think they’re talking crap.” Renjun nods once. Mark turns to his last victim. “Did _you_ see any ghosts?”

“Nada.” Donghyuck shakes his head. “And you?”

Mark recalls the voicemail he’d received not ten minutes ago. “Cell phone reception is down,” he points out. “That’s the scariest thing I’ve seen today.”

“That _is_ pretty scary,” agrees Donghyuck. Chenle shakes his head in disappointment.

“If you guys are done eating,” Mark slides his chair back, “Let’s go upstairs and talk this out. _With_ Jeno and Jaemin. I want to get to bottom of this…” he gestures vaguely with his hands, “this _ghost_ business.”

Jisung pushes away his half-eaten plate and stands up. Donghyuck follows more hesitantly, wary of the large amount of food they were leaving behind. “Shouldn’t we pack some up for those two?” he questions.

“I don’t think they’ll eat anymore tonight,” says Renjun, wiping his lips on a napkin. “They’re probably sleeping.”

 

Renjun guessed right.

Donghyuck scoffs at the sight of the Jeno and Jaemin huddled together in the same bed. “Too bad. Tomorrow morning then.” He shrugs and struts out of their bedroom. Mark frowns, disappointed, but he isn’t about to wake the two boys up. “Yeah, tomorrow,” he agrees.

“What if something happens before tomorrow?” asks Jisung.

Sighing, Mark cards his hand through his hair. There’s frustration bubbling again. “What could possibly happen before tomorrow morning?” he tries to keep his voice level. He was left in charge; he must be a _calm_ older-brother. Shouting will only wind them up further. There’s enough tension in the air as it is.

“I don’t know. But even the weather is suddenly terrible!” Jisung argues. As if to prove his point, lightning strikes the room white and Chenle shrieks. By domino effect, both Jisung and Donghyuck shriek as well and then the thunder bellows.

Once the initial shock fades, Renjun slaps his forehead. “Are you scared of thunderstorms now too?”

“No!” Chenle all but yells. “There’s a person on the balcony!”

Afraid their ruckus might’ve woken the sleeping boys up, Mark had rushed check up on them, but Chenle’s last shout draws the final groan and he slams the door shut. Cursing them under his breath (not that they’d be able to hear him anyways), he stomps to the balcony in the kitchen and slides open the door, electing yet another scream from Chenle. There had better really be a ghost for all the shrieking his ears have borne.

The rain is already soaking through his jacket and shirt, but he’s at the end of his tether. He steps out into the storm and calls to Chenle. “Nothing! There is nothing here!” Furious, he stomps back in and roughly shakes the rain off his hair.

Sensing Mark’s quickly dampening mood, (an incident equally rare as it is unwelcome), Donghyuck ushers Chenle to a side and suggests he and Jisung go to bed. “When the hyungs get back, I’ll tell them to come to your dorm, okay?”

“What if they don’t come back?” asks Jisung, persistently pessimistic.

“ _Shut_. _Up_.” Chenle snipes.

 _Thank you, Park Jisung_ , Donghyuck groans. As if talking about ghosts isn’t frightening enough, trust Jisung to remind him of all the worst-case scenarios. He really regrets turning down Johnny’s offer to join them. “They _will_ , and you can tell them everything in the morning, okay?” Donghyuck insists. “Right now isn’t a good time. Tomorrow.” He pats Jisung’s shoulders awkwardly. “Try get some sleep.”

Jisung’s shoulders slump under his hands. Chenle grabs on to his friend’s hand and squeezes it, whispering into his ear. Donghyuck takes this as his cue to leave; or turn away, rather, really. He watches the two youngest boys trudge unhappily into their bedroom.

At the same time, the other bedroom door opens. “What’s going on?” A sleepy Jeno mumbles, rubbing one eye with his fist. No one replies, and he blinks at them expectantly.

“Nothing. We were just gonna go to bed,” Mark says just as Renjun says, “Mark wanted to talk to you.” Jeno immediately turns to Mark, eyes wide with curiosity.

Mark shuts his eyes and breathes deeply. He wills himself to calm down. “Okay,” he says. _Okay._ “We were talking about how Jisung and Chenle think there’s a ghost in the hotel- or the apartment, whatever. Chenle says he saw it. Just now he was screaming about someone on the balcony.” He shakes his head and misses the way Jeno’s eyes dash to the balcony door behind him. “Jisung heard the ghost?” he continues, unsure. “And none of us have seen or heard anything. What do you think?”

Jeno, with his eyes still glued to the balcony, almost doesn’t hear Mark’s question. He stumbles for a moment, trying to understand the words and answers him earnestly, “yes.”

A second passes. “Jeno, that wasn’t a yes or no question,” Donghyuck sighs into his palm.

“I saw something in the kitchen,” Jeno tells them hesitantly. “The chef’s kitchen. There was something on the grill.” He scrunches his face up just at the thought of what he’d seen cooking on the skewers. He’d already thrown up once, but he feels his stomach clench again.

“Jeno, I was with you in the kitchen,” says Renjun, and this is the reason Jeno didn’t say anything then. “There was nothing cooking on the grill, or the stove or in the oven.” Oh, he wishes there wasn’t. If there wasn’t, then how does his brain remember the image so vividly? He knows he was the only one who saw it. Just as how Jisung was the only one who heard the footsteps and Chenle was the only one who saw the lady by the pool. (Just like the blood in the bathtub every morning). He can’t prove it to them. So, instead, he turns their attention away from him.

“Jaemin has nightmares,” he says, just loud enough for them to hear.

“Is he still sleeping?” Mark asks.

Jeno looks over his shoulder into the room. He nods.

“Is he in your bed?” Renjun asks, pinching the bridge of nose.

“Yeah,” says Jeno.

“Good, then I’m turning in for the night.”

Jeno moves aside to let Renjun brush past him into their shared room. That left just Mark and Donghyuck standing outside and himself in the doorway. “So,” he starts.

“ _So_ ,” repeats Donghyuck. He looks at Mark through the corner of his eye. “I think we’ll be heading back to our dorm. See you, Jeno.” He raises a hand in farewell and Jeno returns the gesture.

“You guys stress me out so much,” Mark complains, but Jeno knows there’s no spite behind it. “We’ll come back first thing in the morning, I promise. And then maybe we can persuade Manager-hyung to switch hotels.” He couldn’t have made a better suggestion, Jeno thinks.

 

He thought wrong. They should’ve left right there and then; when they still had a chance.

 

* * *

 

It’s nearing one in the morning and the older boys still aren’t back. Mark’s eyes shift towards the clock more and more often as the hours stretch out until he’s watching the minute hand edge ever so slightly with every passing tick. The TV is switched on, but he had stopped paying attention hours ago. Outside, the storm still beats against the window and every now and then, thunder drowns out the actors’ voices. Well. It wasn’t like he could understand Chinese anyways.

The lights in the living room and kitchen are all on because Donghyuck refused to sleep in the dark. Or in his room. Mark didn’t comment on it when Donghyuck came out of his bedroom wearing a too-large hoodie that so obviously belonged to Johnny. He just scooted to one end of the couch and let Donghyuck curl up beside him, his socked feet digging into Mark’s thighs. Mark tugs his blanket further up his chest, sighs, and waits. It’s not unlike them to return so late in the night, or rather, so early in the morning. However, in a foreign country (to most of them), especially in one where they’ve left their seven youngest brothers behind, Mark had expected _at least_ their manager or Taeyong to have returned by now.

Just as he’s starting to think Jisung was right, the door handle shakes. It doesn’t open; of course not, it’s locked. Mark had made sure of that. Then there’s a sudden thunder of knocks pounding on the door. It causes Donghyuck to jump- instantly awake and terrified. The pounding doesn’t cease. It’s desperate but Mark is too frightened of what could be out there to open it. He doesn’t know when he gripped Donghyuck’s hand.

“Mark!” Donghyuck speaks his name urgently, but softly. Outside, someone else calls his name with the same sense of urgency, albeit _much_ louder.

“Open the _goddamn_ door!”

 

When Jaemin wakes up, it’s sudden, and loud, and unexpected, and he’s so disorientated and confused and _so, so_ lost; it’s noisy and he can’t think straight, he can’t keep his thoughts together- can’t remember why, or _where_ or _what_ happened

(is happening?)

but he thinks he might be screaming.

(he doesn’t think he’s stopped screaming since it started.

he wants it to _end_ already.)

Absently, he realises he’s been banging his head on his knees, _oh, that’s why his head hurts_ , and then he’s stopped. Something- some _one_ (Jeno) is tugging on his hands (they’re yanking at his hair), he unclenches his fingers (someone is still screaming – it’s not him), then Jeno is gone.

He breathes, deeply, heavily, slowly, _slowly_. His face is wet with- (sweat? tears?) he doesn’t know. But he’s sure, this time, he really is awake. He must be awake. His head hurts too much, he _must_ be awake. This time he really is.

Then why are they still screaming?

 

Jisung is very sensitive to noises. So, with the storm wreaking havoc, he can’t fall asleep. He would have spent the night scrolling through social media, secretly spying on his fans, but with the reception down, he can’t use his mobile data and Wi-Fi is non-existent.

However, he’s half glad, that at least he doesn’t have to hear the ghost footsteps or the children that don’t live in the building (or are alive at all), even if thunderstorms are a little scary. It is that drowning of the sound of footsteps, specifically, that leads up to this moment, which years from now he won’t be able to explain, partially because it doesn’t make sense, despite all he’s said and heard, and partially because-

Because he’ll simply lack the ability to.

So, cosied up against Chenle, he doesn’t hear pitter-patter of light footfalls on the tiles; the ones that had stopped outside the door the night before. Small sounds like that get lost. Like the ruffle of his blanket, and the soft mull of his voice _(“hyung? Why are you-?”)_ and the miniscule gasp he manages to wrench out from his closed-up throat.

But loud sounds, like the ear-piercing scream from Jaemin next door, shatter all other sounds. Loud sounds wake Chenle up. They also sustain as perfect distractions. Loud sounds give Jisung the opportunity to whap Renjun’s hand away and scutter to the other end of the room.

Chenle leaps out of the covers and hides behind Jisung. It’s something Jisung is so familiar with. Chenle always uses them as human shields against Renjun. Jisung becomes the sacrificial goat – he’s been the victim to Renjun’s chokeholds too many times.

However, this time, it’s different. This time, he can feel Chenle trembling and his own knees shake, and he knows it’s not because they’re trying to hold in their laughter. The person in front of them is hardly their brother, the Renjun they know. That Renjun left them when they moved in.

He grins at them and all Jisung sees is madness. _Madness_ , _madness_ and a glint of silver in the lightning.

_Oh._

Thunder is usually a very loud sound, but it’s background noise behind Chenle’s scream.

 

No one ever leaves Jeno in charge. He’s not as irresponsible as Chenle, or prone to making trouble like Donghyuck, or as easily led on as Jisung, but he’s also not nurturing like Jaemin, or as sensible as Renjun, or as old as Mark. However, there is one thing he’s good at: panicking.

When Jaemin throws himself upright, screaming into his knees, he panics. He doesn’t blame himself, what is he supposed to do? He has never been in this sort of situation before, so automatically, he turns to Renjun for help. Between the two of them, Renjun knows better about comfort and essentially, to _stop people from screaming_ (he also knows how to make people shriek in terror) except… Renjun’s bed is empty. He’s not in their room.

Jeno has to take charge alone.

He kneels beside Jaemin nervously. Is he allowed to touch? Will he scare him more if he does? “Nana?” he calls, but Jaemin doesn’t hear him. So, carefully, he places his hands over Jaemin’s, which are fisted in his hair (Jeno worries for the state of his already damaged and over-dyed scalp) and holds his head still. Thankfully, the younger boy relaxes his fingers and halts his screaming to breathe.

But the dorm doesn’t want to serve Jeno peace, because next, he hears Chenle shrieking through the wall. Now Jeno has to leave Jaemin by himself while he runs across and bursts into the room next door. The first person he sees is Renjun, and he feels relief course through his veins, because it’s _Renjun_ and Renjun knows what to do. Yet his heart leaps up to his throat and suddenly it’s fear, not relief. The sight doesn’t look right.

Renjun is standing over Jisung, who is sat on the floor, holding a hand to his chest while Chenle crouches beside him. His eyes are locked on Renjun, fearful, and when Jeno steps closer, he sees why.

There’s a blooming patch of red on Jisung’s white night-tee.

Jeno panics first.

He rushes towards them, grabs Renjun by the shoulder and spins him around. “Jun, _what_ did you do?” For a spare second, he sees red splattered on the bare walls of the room, wallpaper ripped off. Then it’s gone.

Chenle cries out and pulls Jeno away from Renjun (to safety, but he doesn’t know that yet).

Renjun stares at him blankly, that mad grin gone. His head lolls to the side a bit and he stumbles back. Jeno is still processing when an object clatters onto the ground. It had fallen out of Renjun’s hand and it was stained red. It’s a fruit knife.

Jeno looks back at Jisung. At the knife. Back at Jisung. A butcher’s knife. Jeno blinks.

Then he rages.

“What the _hell_?” Chenle can’t hold him back. He lunges at Renjun. They fall over, Jeno landing on top of the smaller boy and absolutely seething. He hauls Renjun up by the collar, bringing him so close their noses touch. Close enough that Renjun can feel his anger when he yells into his face; “ _what the_ fuck _is wrong with you?”_

Renjun gives no answer. For a moment, Jeno is afraid he might have knocked him unconscious. Then, he suddenly jerks, and a second later, Jeno feels a burst of pain on the side of his head. Renjun kicks him in the stomach and attacks him, all sharp elbows and knees. Before Jeno knows it, he’s been thrown off and Renjun has got his hands on the knife again.

Jisung’s speaker is lying on the floor where they were. There’s a dent on one side and an equally large bump forming on Jeno’s head. “Where did you even get a knife?” Jeno pants, picking himself up.

“Chef’s kitchen,” Renjun replies, monotonous and so unlike Renjun. “You were a little distracted.”

Suddenly, Chenle yelps, “Jaemin!”, and that provides Jeno with the momentary distraction needed to pin Renjun’s arms to the wall behind him. Renjun bears a malicious grin despite the struggle. Although he has the upper-hand, Jeno feels as if he’s at the disadvantage. He focuses all his strength into holding Renjun down and ridding him of that knife. Behind him, he can hear Jaemin’s confused mumbling and Chenle’s panicky gasps.

He doesn’t hear anything from Jisung.

 

Chenle can’t breathe.

Jisung isn’t breathing and Chenle can’t breathe.

Jaemin is pressing onto the wound with one hand and patting Jisung’s cheek with the other. He sounds scared. That scares Chenle. His fingers are curled so tightly around Jisung’s wrist, he _should_ be able to feel the pulse beneath it.

He doesn’t.

Jaemin tries to pull his fingers off but Chenle doesn’t want to let go. He can’t let go of his best friend. Not like this. It’s too sudden- He wasn’t ready. Chenle chokes. He can’t breathe. He wasn’t ready.

 _Jisung_ wasn’t ready.

Jaemin is kneading circles onto the backs of his hands. Chenle wishes he would be more helpful, but Jaemin doesn’t say anything. Not even when Chenle lets the first sob break. Or the second. He just holds his hands gently. It’s frustrating when all Chenle wants is to be held so tight that he can believe none of this is happening.

They don’t allow him that sense of safety.

“Get! Out!” Jeno shouts at them.

Chenle looks up. He knows there’s a different person inside Renjun. He can see the spirit. He knows well that they should leave, but he doesn’t want to leave Jisung behind.

“Get out!” Jeno yells again. “Run!”

Chenle tries to convey it to Jeno without words. Unfortunately, Jeno is too occupied. So instead, he searches Jaemin for support. Or help. Or for any hope that he’ll take control, like he _should_.

The older boy doesn’t budge.

“Please do something,” he pleads.

Jaemin bites his lip. “I’m so tired…” he says, sounding choked up. Chenle doesn’t know what to do anymore.

“We need to go,” he manages just as Jeno shouts at them for the third time.

“But it’s always the same thing.” Jaemin meets his eyes and, oh no he’s crying, they’re both crying, and everything’s gone wayward. “We can’t _ever_ get away. _Every_ time I wake up, it just repeats itself over- there is no way out.”

“Jaemin,” Jeno huffs. “This is fucking real, _do you hear me?_ You’re not dreaming anymore, alright?”

Chenle squeezes his hands ( _they’re covered in Jisung’s blood_ ). It’s unusual; he takes on the role of the big brother, seeing as Jaemin is not going to snap out of it any time soon, but there’s nothing usual about their circumstance. He forces Jaemin to stand up with him, carefully avoiding looking at the corpse of his best friend. _Ouch._

It’s tough.

“Jeno?” he calls shakily. “Please, make sure you get out too.”

“Hurry up,” is all Jeno groans.

They run to the front door. Somewhere on the way, Jaemin returns to himself at long last and takes over (much to Chenle’s appeasement). He remembers to grab the keys, something that had slipped Chenle’s mind. In the painstaking minute it takes his shaky hands to turn the lock, there’s a heavy crash- _numerous_ _crashes_ from the master’s bedroom. Chenle freezes, but Jaemin drags him outside.

Then he locks the door behind them.

“But-” Chenle tries to argue. _But Jeno’s still inside!_

Jaemin only shakes his head. He clutches the youngest's hand and tugs him away from their apartment. There’s more crashes; muffled but still audible. Each one makes Chenle flinch harshly. Jaemin urges him to walk faster, but Chenle is leaving a lot of regrets behind. It’s a too heavy load. His feet are locked in place.

The absolute banger comes with the front door. Chenle knows then, that there is no hope for Jeno, and probably none for him too unless he leaves them behind and runs for his life. So, he drops the weights of the two people he loved,

and he runs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all spirals down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally finished her first chaptered fic?  
> This bitch, that's who.  
> This is a new record - I spent less than a year on this - and i'm actually pretty satisfied with the whole thing; like WHAT miracle is this?

“Open the _goddamn_ door!”

Donghyuck jumps at the raw terror in Jaemin’s voice. He shoves Mark’s shoulder. “Open it!” he hisses at him. Mark’s eyes are betrayed behind his glasses. He points at himself: _me?_ and Donghyuck kicks him off the couch.

He wields the TV remote at ready when Mark’s hands fumble with the lock. Both Jaemin and Chenle spill in, Jaemin hurriedly slamming the door shut and snatching the keys out of Mark’s hand to keep it locked.

There’s absolute silence for a good five seconds aside from Jaemin and Chenle’s heavy breathing. Donghyuck realises the storm has finally let up.

And then there’s a new round of pounding on the door. Mark leaps away from the wooden slab as if it will bite him and Chenle dashes all the way to hide behind Donghyuck. “Let me in! Let me _in!_ ” Renjun shouts. Donghyuck feels Chenle grip onto the back of his (Johnny’s) hoodie.

Mark quickly moves to unlock the door again but Jaemin is having none of that. He flings the keys across the room and grabs Mark by the collar of his shirt. “ _Don’t_ open it,” he growls and _hurls_ Mark towards the sitting area.

Mark catches himself on the armchair. “Calm down, it’s Renjun!” he tells him. He reaches for the keys and Jaemin is on him again.

“ _I said_ , don’t open the fucking door!” the boy roars. Mark is conflicted.

Renjun continues to bang on the door. “ _Mark!_ _Please!_ Let me in!”

“Don’t let him in,” Chenle whispers, so broken and frightened. Donghyuck is wholeheartedly concerned for the boy.

“Don’t let him in,” he repeats louder for Chenle.

With Chenle’s support, Mark seems convinced. He raises his eyebrows at Jaemin, silently informing him that he isn’t going to try anything and gently pulls Jaemin’s hands away from his collar. Instantly, Jaemin deflates and half-collapses on the spot. Mark wraps an arm around him and helps him to the armchair while Donghyuck watches completely astounded.

“Is that… Is that _blood_ on your hands, Jaemin?!” Mark suddenly sputters. Sure enough, Jaemin’s fingers are coated in red. Donghyuck feels his insides turn. There’s nothing good that can come out of this.

Jaemin nods feebly. His hands are clenched on his lap.

 _“Who’s?”_ Mark croaks.

Jaemin is having a hard time forcing the name out. His lips move constantly with no voice to support them. Chenle’s fist tightens on Donghyuck back. Donghyuck holds his breath.

Jaemin gulps. “Ji- Jisung’s.”

Chenle leans over the couch. Donghyuck senses what’s coming. He draws his feet up just in time as Chenle pukes all over the carpet. Mark cringes, but Jaemin shows absolutely no reaction. He doesn’t look up from his lap.

“And Jeno?” Mark inquires quietly. He doesn’t sound as if he truly wants a reply. His hands twist over his chest as if his heart physically pained him.

Donghyuck stops patting Chenle’s back to grind the answer from Jaemin’s expression. It doesn’t look good. Mark takes a step back when Jaemin shudders and leans foward, probably expecting another cookie toss. He covers his mouth with one hand. Shakes his head.

 _No,_ Donghyuck thinks. It’s all he can think. _No, no, no._

“I told you,” Chenle says feebly, “I told you that wasn’t Renjun. I _told_ you.”

“Are you saying Renjun killed them?” Donghyuck can’t stop himself from asking. “They’re _dead_ , is that what you’re saying?”

“It’s not Renjun!” Chenle hollers at him and Donghyuck quickly apologizes.

Mark comes around to their side, carefully side-stepping the puddle of vomit, and coaxes Chenle to stand up. “You two should go get cleaned up.” He pointedly looks at Donghyuck as he says this, and Donghyuck understands what he means is that, Donghyuck should distract Jaemin and Chenle while Mark investigates.

“Yeah, c’mon, Lele.”

Jaemin follows them halfway to the bathroom, then stops when he realises Mark isn’t coming up behind him. Donghyuck hurriedly grabs him by the elbow. “Don’t worry,” he reassures his friend. “He’s just cleaning up Chenle’s mess.” He hopes Mark doesn’t try anything stupid.

Just to check, he leaves Jaemin and Chenle in the bathroom to wash up, with the excuse of getting them clean clothes. However, as soon as he steps out by himself, they’re both on high alert and right beside him. Donghyuck can’t blame them. As irritating as it is, he’s grateful that they’re there (although he already knows they are hardly a threat to anybody.)

Instead, he ransacks Yuta and Winwin’s room, telling himself that they’ll have bigger problems than stolen clothes to whine about when they get back _(if they get back)._ He finds a sweater (Yuta’s) for Jaemin and gets one of his own hoodies for Chenle.

“Better?” he asks. Chenle shakes his head in a dignified _no_. “I figured.”

“Where’s Mark?” Jaemin searches for the eldest boy in the hallway. Donghyuck follows his line of view. The living room is empty. There’s no one in the kitchen.

“I… don’t know,” Donghyuck admits, nervousness creeping in. It’s a little bit too quiet.

“ _Oh God,_ ” Jaemin flings his hands into his hair. The horrified expression on his face is so funny, it almost makes Donghyuck laugh. _Almost_. “Don’t tell me he went after Injun!”

Beside Jaemin, Chenle tenses up, face pale and breaths shaky. Worrying about Mark won’t calm him down, so Donghyuck tries to lighten up the atmosphere. “Jaemin, we’re talking about a five-foot, skinny ass male-”

 _“Wielding a knife!”_ Jaemin interrupts. “And… and _possessed_ by a ghost or some shit- who has already killed _two_ …” He trails off, unable to speak, but Donghyuck wasn’t listening anyway.

Approaching them from behind, is a slim, white figure with two dark holes where the eyes should be; so dark they look gouged out. He almost doesn’t recognise him – the fourth quarter to their 00 quartet.

His first thought is, _when did he grow so tall?_

His second is, _they really should have listened._

Chenle doesn’t have time for either of those two thoughts before the knife is stuck in one side of his neck and skewered through the other. He gurgles a little. There’s desperation painted stark on his face – a cry for help that couldn’t be answered. Little bubbles of blood form on his lips. They drip down his chin and stain Donghyuck’s hoodie.

 _(Darn,_ is what Donghyuck thinks, _there goes my hoodie.)_

Renjun rips the knife out and Chenle falls into a heap on the floor.

No one has to tell them to run. Jaemin shoves Renjun aside and they slide through the door- _actually slide_ ; Donghyuck slips and lands on his ass. The corridor is slick with icky, sticky, deep-red blood. Mark’s blood. His best friend, Mark Lee’s blood. The fool had gone outside with a _wooden spoon_ as his only weapon.

 _Idiot!_ He wants to scream at him. _You goddamn idiot!_

_Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!_

But Mark can’t hear him.

Instantly, Jaemin’s hands are on his shoulders, helping him up, pushing him forward,

(although he doesn’t know why he’s running anymore –

doesn’t see the _point_ in it),

helping him run down the stairwell ( _‘because you_ never _take the elevator in an emergency’)._

They reach the 5th floor when a giant heap falls from the above and lands between them with a sickening _crunch_. Jaemin’s steady grip on his arm is ripped and Donghyuck falls down the last set of stairs. He lands _completely_ wrong on his foot. The scalding, sharp pain shoots up the whole of his leg and he has to bite back a scream.

“Hyuck! Are you okay?” Jaemin shouts.

 _No_ , he thinks. “Is he dead?” he asks. Renjun’s body looks too mangled for a normal human to be able to withstand. However, he’s going to be cautious with all he’s seen so far.

“I don’t know,” says Jaemin. He tentatively comes down a step. “Can you get up?”

Donghyuck manoeuvres himself upright. He puts his weight on his bad foot, already knowing he can’t hold it. He winces. “Must’ve sprained it.” No way he’ll be able to make it on his own now. He watches Jaemin chew on his lip, deep in thought.

“Okay,” he says finally. “Hold on.” Jaemin steps around Renjun. He holds onto the railing tightly with one hand, and peers over to look at his _(former)_ friend’s face. He gags slightly and leaps straight down towards Donghyuck. “Looks pretty dead to me,” he mutters. “Mark must’ve plucked his eyes out.”

Donghyuck puts his arm around Jaemin’s shoulders and hops to his ~~feet~~ foot. “It’s the only thing a fucking spoon is good for,” he grumbles. There’s a stinging in his eyes he tries to blink away. “Fucking idiot.”

If Jaemin noticed how his voice shook, he doesn’t comment on it.

 

The hobble down the next set of steps in a hurry. Renjun’s body may look dead, but they already know there’s unnatural forces at work here. The faster they _get out_ , the better Jaemin will feel, though he hardly thinks anyone who had the terror of witnessing the gruesome deaths of their best friends, could possibly feel better, no matter the length of time given.

He shakes those thoughts out of his head and tightens his grip on Donghyuk’s waist. The boy whimpers with each step and they’re not even halfway down the staircase. Jaemin _would_ carry him on his back, but he’s not sure if he has the strength to, and the last thing he wants is for the _both_ of them to tumble down and break their necks.

“C’mon, Duckie,” he urges. It’s a nickname they haven’t used in years. _Not since we were twelve,_ Jaemin thinks. But it slips out in their desperation.

“I’m _trying_ ,” Donghyuck gasps. His forehead is covered in a sheen of sweat and his skin is the same deathly pale he’d last seen on Renjun. There’s a growing fear in Jaemin’s head that Donghyuck might also go berserk on him, pressing Jaemin to leave him behind before he does.

They reach the small landing and start down the set of stairs to the 3rd floor where the pool is, when they hear a crackle from the landing a floor up. Both share looks of equal terror and Jaemin hurriedly bends down. Donghyuck asks no questions. He climbs on Jaemin’s back. Jaemin stands up shakily, stumbles as quickly as he can without falling.

But not quick enough for Renjun. He’s in worse shape than Donghyuck, but the broken bones seem to affect him just as much as the lack of eyes took away his ability to see. Just the small touch of his hand is enough to make Jaemin lose his balance. He crashes onto the wall next to the fire-escape door and Donghyuck once again lands at the bottom of the stairs.

Renjun, having had grabbed the back of Donghyuck’s shirt, gets pulled on top of him. The boy is trapped beneath his zombie-of-a-friend, face down and in pure agony. Renjun drags Donghyuck’s head up by the hair. For a millisecond, his eyes meet Jaemin’s. Then Renjun slams his head down on the concrete. Brings it back up. Slams it down again. Again. Again. _Crack. Crack._ Continuously to the point where Jaemin can’t recognise the bloody mangle of flesh and bones through his blurry vision.

The only thing that gets him to pick himself up from the floor, and scramble for the fire-escape, is the knowledge he has from his nightmares; that if he doesn’t get up and run while he has the chance, he’ll face the same end as all the ghosts that haunt the goddamn hotel.

So, weary as he is, he pushes himself one last time- rips himself away from Donghyuck _(there’s no hope left. nothing.)_ and lets his legs carry him far, far away from the horrors his best friends have become.

_(he has nothing left)_

When the adrenaline finally burns out and his knees give in, he collapses by the side of the pool. He remembers Jisung, only three days ago, standing where he was, when he questioned them about footsteps next door, and they’d told him it was impossible.

They were so _stupid._

The same day, just across the pool length in front of him, where Chenle claimed he saw a woman heading for the shower rooms and they’d all brushed it off.

The mornings Jeno exclaimed _‘how quickly the bathtub rusts!’_ and not one of them realised that those were bloodstains, not rust-stains, but why couldn’t they see them like he could?

Every time Renjun complained about his headaches. Every time he snapped at them so uncharacteristically.

They were so, so, so stupid.

And out of all of them, he, the one who spent nights trapped in nightmare after nightmare, waking up only to realise he’s still dreaming and it’s another terrifying show of all the worst-case-possible-scenarios, yet wouldn’t consider the possibility of sixth-sense warnings, is the stupidest of them all.

How many times has he watched his friends being ripped apart? Devoured by some cannibal chef? Drowned in bathtubs? And now possessed by a murderous ghost?

(In the back of his mind, he knows he can’t escape the loop.)

He hears Renjun crawling towards him on his broken arms and knees, but he keeps his eyes on the water. It’s almost early morning – the edge of the rising sun barely peeking over rooftops. His knees are damp from the rain and the cold quickly seeps in. Though the rain had long since stopped, the wind still pricks his cheeks and freezes the tracks of tears. It sends ripples across the surface of the water.

One last time, he pulls himself to his feet. He stands at the edge of the pool, the ghost barely a foot behind him. He almost turns around to face Renjun. Almost. But he doesn’t want _that_ to be the last thing he sees. So, he closes his eyes, and imagines them at a time _before_. With that image on the back of his eyelids, he lets himself fall.

When the feels the iciness wrap its suffocating embrace, he takes in a deep breath and lets the water fill up his lungs. He lets himself drift away.

The first ray of morning sun breaks.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It’s around 2am when Jaemin jerks upright, sweat dripping from his chin like a faucet and his clothes plastered to his skin. The unfamiliarity of the room he’s in and the mattress beneath him, leaves his nerves on edge. He’s not willing to take any more risks. But in the time it takes for him to remember where he is, the trails of his nightmare fade from his memory. The dark shape of his still packed suitcase forms at the end of the bed. Airplane tickets on the bedside table. Backpack hanging on the back of a chair.

In the morning, Jisung will interrogate them about footsteps, Chenle will point out every ghost lingering in the shadow, Jeno will wash away the stains in the bathtub, Renjun will fuss about his head, Mark will brush away the older boys and if Donghyuck finds a Ouija board hidden in the back of his cupboard, he’ll tell no one else about it.

And the never-ending loop will down-send another spiral of disasters they can’t escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have plans to write the 127 side to this, bc if you remember, they went la-la-looping into the classic 'Abandoned-Amusement-Park-that-is-totally-not-haunted-what-are-you-talking-about?'  
> But,,,  
> I'm lazy. That's all.
> 
> Goodbye to this rollercoaster. See you all whenever I manage to update Wild Card.

**Author's Note:**

> So like,,,  
> I should probably be focusing on my existing fic, bc I can't even regularly update that one, but hey- let's post this too and see how well I juggle 2 fics at once.


End file.
